Manufacture of turn-shoes



A. was. MANUFACTURE OF TURN SHOES APPLICATION FILED APR. 30 I9 l9.

1,36 9 Patented Feb. 1, 1921..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR BATES, or nnrcns rnn, nnenann, nssrenon TO unrrnn snon QMACHINERY' CORPORATION, OF IPATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 01 NEW JERSEY.

MANUFACTURE OF TURN-SHOES.

Application filed April 30, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR Barns, a subject oi the l ling of England, residmg at Leicester, Leicestershire, lfingland, have 111'- vented certain Improvements in the Mann tacture of Turnetihoes, of which the tollow-,

out to the sole and subsequently turning the shoe right side out.

In the manufacture of turn shoes having a sewed seat which is formed by continuing the upper attaching seam around the heel end of the shoe to attach the upper to the sole, considerable dilliculty is experienced in locating the heel stiliening element or counter in position during the sewing operation for it and the other shoe upper parts to be sewed to the sole to the best advantage. This difiiculty is present chiefly because of the unshaped and bulky condition of a turn shoe counter at this stage in the manufacture of the shoe and, also, because the counter has not been secured in its assembled relation definitely and permanently to the shoe upper.

It is an object of the present invent on to provide an improved process of making turn shoes by which, to eliminate these and other disadvantages, the shoe upper materials, including the shoe upper stiffening element and the sole, may be located and retained precisely in proper relative positions during the upper attaching operat on with greater accuracy and iacllity than prior processes permit, and also by WlllCll a better appearing and better fitting shoe may be produced. Inanother aspect, the invention provides an improved process of turn shoe making by the practice of which the shoe upper attaching machines of the type shown, for example, in British Patent 4173/12, may be utilized to the best advan tage to sew the shoe upper to the sole while the shoe is oil the last.

From one view-point the invention comprises, as steps in the manufacture of a turn shoe, assembling with a shoe upper and a sole, a shoe upper stiffening member having Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

Serial No. 293,614.

its lower edge initially formed to fit the angle formed between the feather of the sole and the sewing shoulder provided around the end of the sole for the attachment of the shoe upper, sewing the assembled shoe upper ins1de out to a sole and subsequently turning the shoe right side out.

In the illustrated practice of the invention, a heel stilfener or counter is molded so that its lower edge presents initially a flange which projects inwardly a distance to overlie the feather of the sole and then upwardly to butt against the sewing shoulder of the sole. By providing the lower margin of the sole with an inwardly-projecting, substantially right-angled flange, the location of the counter relatively to the sole during the sewing operation is greatly facilitated and the sewing operation-made much easier inasmuch as less skill is required and it is not necessary to depend upon the stitches drawing the edge of the counter againstthe sewing shoulder on the sole.

An important advantage resulting from the preparation oi the counter with an initial flange as above set forth is that the line upon which the counter will fold or break when the heel part of the shoe, including the counter, is turned right side out is predetermined with substantial accuracy, since when the shoe is reversed, the counter shape will naturally be determined by the initial fold oi the counter. Consequently a more accurate and better defined line around the heel seat portion of the shoe will be obtained than. by the use of prior methods wherein a good counter or heel seat line is obtained, if at all, only by considerable labor and skill in shaping and forming the counter tothe lines of the last. y

i It is to be understood that the present invention is not restricted in its use to a heel stiffener or counter but may also be emloyed to advantage with toe stifleners.

loreover, while the process of the invention as herein described includes as a step a temporary formation of the lower ed e of the counter to fit the shouldered margin of the sole, if desired the entire end portion of the shoe, including the shoe upper, may be initially molded within the scope of the invention.

. The invention in its various aspects will now be described in detail in connection with the accompanying drawings which one manner in which it has been success fully ,practised, ashoe upper 2 is assembled inside out upon a last 4, to ether with asolc 6. This sole is channeled and shouldered in the manner of aturn sole, the shoulder and channel extending around the heel end of the sole to enable a sewed seat to be made.

The shoulder to which the upper 2 is at tached is obtained as illustrated by removing from the upper marginal surface of the sole Gastr-ipof leather substantially oblong in cross section so that the sole presents along its upper margin a reduced feather portion ISahd an upstanding wall orshoulder 10 against which the shoe upper 2 is sewed, A channel lQ-extending diagonally toward the base of the shoulder 10 is also cut in the sole to receive the upper attaching stitches. The heel stifiening member or counter 14 for the shoe is formed or shaped so that its lower margin presents an inwardly projecting, right angled flange adapted to fit the angle produced by the feather portion '8 and the shouleer 10 around the heel end of the sole 6, as illustrated in Fig. l. Inasmuch as the counter shape is to be reversed after the shoe upp *1 is attached to the sole, it is not necessary to shape the counter as a whole but merely the lower edge of the counter. This lower edge on the counter may be shaped in any suitable manner, as between properly shaped metallic molds. Alternatively, also, the entire heel end portion of the shoe upper, including the counter, may be shaped so that its lower edge will fit the angle of the feather and the sewing shoulder on the sole. As illustrated in Fig. '1, the inwardly-projecting flange comprlses a portion 16 to overlie the feather 8 of the sole and an upstanding portion 18 at substantially right angles to the-adjacent portion 16 to abut against the wall 10 constituting the sewing shoulder. In the illustrated practice of the invention this counter is next placed between the upper and the lining of the shoe when the upper is assembled on the last and in the following step the attachment of the upper to the sole through the forepart and the shank is'performed in the usual manner. In sewing around the heel seat to attach the upper, including thecounter, to the sole the operator fits the flanged lower edge of the counter into the angle of the feather and shoulder of the sole, thus accurately and conveniently positioning the heel end portion of the shoe in proper relative position to the sole to be sewed to the best advantage. lrleretofore in sewing around the heel seal of the shoe the tension of the stitch was depended upon to draw the edge of the counter and the shoe upper into the angle on the sole and this extra work imposed on the machine, together with the necessity of the operator skilfully manipuating the shoe parts into position to be sewed, acted to slow up the sewing operation appreciably and unless considerable skill and care was exercised on the part of the operator an unsat- .isfactory attachment of the shoe upper and the sole resulted. it will be seen. however. that by initially forming the lower edge of the counter, which constitutes the greatest bulk of material to be included in the heel seat scam, to the shouldered formation of the sole, the inseam stitches are not reqiurcd to draw the aterials into the angle on the sole and consequently a much tighter scam is obtained and there is less tendency of the operator to sew high on the shoulder as happens where the shoe upper, and particularly the counter stock, is not sufliciently tempered to permit the stock to be drawn into position by the tension of the stitches.

In the next step of the process the sewed shoe is removed from the last and turned right side out. The shape which the counter will assume, particularly along its lower margin, when the shoe is turned is predetermined by the initial mold or break of the counter since the reverse break of the counter will naturally follow this initial break. Thus an accurate and well defined seat line or rand crease following the edge of the last is produced without the labor and skill heretofore found necessary to break the counter stock along the line of the upper attaching stitches and the-edge of the last. The resulting shoe thus produces a superior appearance to the shoes made by the prior process and owing to the accuracy obtainable by the process of the invention, the shoe conforms more accurately to the foot for which it is intended.

It will be appreciated that in practising this process of making turn shoes wherein the shoe upper and the sole are not assembled on a last and are attached by a ma hine of the type shown in the above-identified British patent the assembly of the sole and shoe upper in position to be sewed together during the upper attaching operation may be performed more accurately and eiliciently than where the skill of the operator is entirely depended upon to manipulate the shoe parts so that they will be sewed in their proper relation. In addition to the superior less time and skill is required in the manipulation of the shoe parts during the inseamin operation.

T-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of making turn shoes which consists in assembling a channeled and shouldered sole and a shoe upper provided with an upper stiffening element having its lower edge initially formed to fit the angle between the feather of the sole and the shoulder provided around the end of the sole for the attachment of the shoe upper, fitting the formed edge of the stiffening element into the said angle on the sole, sewing the upper to the shoulder on the said sole, turning the shoe right side out, and thereafter relasting the shoe and performing subsequent operations to complete its manufacture.

2. That improvement in methods of making turn shoes which consists in assembling a channeled and shouldered sole and a shoe upper provided with a counter having an inwardly-projecting, substantially right-angled flange, fitting the flange on the counter into the angle between the feather and the shoulder provided around the heel end of the sole, sewing the shoe upper completely around the sole and with the upper attaching stitches received inthe upstanding portion of the flange of the counter around the heel end of the sole, turning the shoe right side out and reversing the counter along the line of the counter adjacent to the upper attaching stitches, and thereafter relastmg the shoe and performing subsequent operations to complete its manufacture.

3. That improvement in the art of making turn shoes which consists in providing a shoe upper with a counter the lower edge of which is molded to produce an inwardly projecting, right-angled flan e correspond ing to the angle between the eather and the shoulder formed along the margin of a turn sole, assembling the shoe upper, including the counter, inside out upon a last together with a turn sole, sewing the assembled upper to the sole, turning the shoe right side out and folding the counter along the break of the flange adjacent to the upper attaching stitches, relasting the shoe, and thereafter performing subsequent operations to complete its manufacture.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ARTHUR BATES. 

